Innovations Session N°13

Isolina Boto is the Head of Networks and Alliances at COLEAD, a non-profit Association of private sector operators in the agrifood sector active in the EU, Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific (ACP) regions. Isolina has more than 25 years of experience in agricultural development. She started her career with the European Commission and has also worked with various ACP embassies and NGOs in areas related to food security, rural development and trade. Before joining COLEAD, she was the Manager of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation ACP-EU (CTA) Brussels Office (2004-2020) implementing policy initiatives related to the ACP-EU cooperation in the field of agricultural and rural development. She has led agribusiness projects in support of capacity development of SMEs, entrepreneurs and farmers organisations across Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

Costantine Edward is a proactive and innovative entrepreneur and the Co-Founder of AgriLife. Graduated with a degree in Agricultural Economics and Agribusiness, Costantine is passionate about transforming organic waste into animal feed protein using black soldier flies, promoting sustainability and responsible consumption. His startup has been gaining recognition for its sustainable approach to agriculture, and his entrepreneurial spirit and ability to think outside of the box have helped him and his team make remarkable progress. With his business acumen and innovative approach, Costantine is sure to leave an impact on the agricultural industry.

Born and raised in Chad, Ella Inzahbo Vourbobe studied at the School of Business and Management (Haute Ecole de Commerce et de Management, HECM) in Cotonou, Benin, with a major in quality control and agri-food engineering. An advocate for vulnerable populations, especially women and girl mothers, Ella has over 12 years of professional and associative experience at national and international levels. She works with many development partners, such as IFAD, Action Contre la Faim, the National Centre for Territorial Public Service (CNCRPT) of France and the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation of Guinea. She is also active with the Unité Béninoise de Technologie Alimentaire (UBETA), the Centre Songhaï in Porto-Novo, Benin, and as a value chain consultant in Chad with Oxfam, FAO, UNESCO. She has provided technical support to the FAO project promoting the development of urban and peri-urban horticulture in Chad. She collaborates with PROPAC (Regional Platform of Farmers’ Organisations in Central Africa) and PAFO (Pan-African Farmers’ Organization).
Ella also participates in national, sub-regional and international meetings related to agricultural development issues (in Cameroon, Niger, Rwanda, Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique, Togo etc.).
These expériences have led Ella to create the women’s and producers’ of local products cooperative “AGROTECH” to support sustainable development in Chad through organic farming.

Afantchawo Koudasse, a Togolese national, is the President of the consultation framework (college) of young farmers within the Network of Farmers’ Organisations and Agricultural Producers of West Africa (ROPPA). He is also the president of the national college of young farmers of the Togolese Coordination of Farmers’ Organisations of Agricultural Producers (CTOP), as well as the secretary general of the Network of Young Producers and Agricultural Professionals of Togo (REJEPPAT).
Afantchawo is the promoter of the Terre Bénie farming school that supports capacity building in agroecology and forest landscape restoration. He grows vegetables, maize, soya and cassava and processes palm and palm nuts into oil. He also raises snails.

Mrs. Rosinah Mbenya is the Country Coordinator for PELUM Kenya, a network of Civil Society Organizations promoting agroecological principles and practices among smallholder farmers and pastoralists in Kenya.
Rosinah a has over twelve years’ experience in development projects, approaches and techniques in the fields of agroecology, climate change, market development, advocacy, capacity development and networking. She holds good knowledge and practical experience in issues that affect small scale farmers and communities. She also holds a good understanding and strong affinity with civil society and networks.
Rosinah is passionate about transforming rural communities livelihoods through ecofriendly agricultural practices.

Robin Ndung’u is the founder of Kisumeo Organics, a crawfish farming business in Kenya. Through his business model, he is contributing to the empowerment of smallholder farmers in Africa to create sustainable and climate resilient aquatic-food systems. While Robin studied computer science and mathematics, his interests were always in aquaculture. Before launching his crawfish business, the young entrepreneur ran an integrated farm comprised of both rabbits and chicken, in addition to tilapia and catfish. Kisumeo Organics was eventually created after he discovered a crawfish colony in the Kiboko River and learned how to farm them as a profitable business. Through its franchise model, Kisumeo Organics is training farmers to produce crawfish, while ensuring that sustainable practices are maintained in controlled aquaculture spaces.
In 2022, Robin was awarded for his contributions to climate change adaptation and resilience across Africa as one of the winners of the African Youth Adapt Challenge during COP27.

Edmond Ng’walago is a climate smart agricultural professional and entrepreneur with six years of experience in sustainable agribusiness practices. Through Ng’wala Inventions he supports the production of organic pesticides and fertiliser and supply them to rural smallholder farmers in Africa on a refilling basis as a zero-waste alternative to chemical pesticides and fertiliser. The project has helped 200,000 youth and women smallholder farmers increasing yields from 1 to 3 tons per hectare and income, as well as conserving the environment creating climate resilience.
Edmond had attended several trainings and short courses in smart agricultural technologies. In 2016, he joined International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA) climate smart agriculture incubation programme fulfilling his passion of enhancing African climate smart agribusiness through deploying modern digital technologies. In 2022, he participated in the innovation and entrepreneurship course from the School of Engineering of the Stanford Centre for Professional Development.
From 2017 to 2018, Edmond has worked as an agribusiness manager and development officer for the Technologies for African Agricultural Transformation Program (TAAT) and Enable Youth at IITA. Since 2018, he has been offering knowledge and mentorship to African youth on modern climate smart agricultural technologies as the solution to fight hunger, poverty, unemployment and climate change.
Edmond had received recognition in 2022 during the COP27 and in 2023 from the French Development Agency (AFD).

Dr. Babafemi Oyewole, the CEO of Pan African Farmers Organization (PAFO), is a tri-sector executive and professional with experiences in the public, private and non-government sectors, and a veteran in the management of international institutions. Prior to his appointment at PAFO, he was the CEO of the African Agribusiness Alliance; former CEO of African Cashew Alliance; former Executive Director/CEO of African Energy Investment Corporation (AEICORP); Deputy Secretary General of the West African Bankers Association (WABA); General Manager, Banque Internationale du Benin, and Senior Economist with the Bank of Industry, Nigeria. He was a Regional Consultant on natural resources management policy in African countries with the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). He is a member of Africa Regional Experts on Policy Dialogue on Natural Resource-based Development at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Dr. Oyewole was a Chevening Scholar for his PhD in development economics at the university of Bradford, United Kingdom, and obtained an MBA in Technology, Marketing and Business Strategy from Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria. He has attended several management and executive development programmes in top universities including Lagos Business School, Nigeria, and Harvard university, United States. He has published articles in international journals and made conference presentations on development policy, banking and finance, agriculture, agribusiness, and sustainable development issues.